SARS Information for Ryerson students, staff and faculty

March 26, 2003

As has been reported in the media, a
number of people in Toronto have contracted Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS). The Toronto Public Health Office has taken a series
of actions to manage the situation.

At the direction of the Toronto Public
Health Office, seven students from Ryerson University and ten from
Centennial College in the collaborative nursing program are following
the 10-day quarantine procedure for hospital workers. The students
had been in placement at two Toronto hospitals. Another student who
was in hospital unrelated to school activities has also been
quarantined. None of these students has shown any signs of SARS.

All of the quarantined students live
off-campus, and have been advised of precautions to follow by Toronto
Public Health.

A student in one of our Continuing
Education nursing classes in Oshawa has, subsequent to the class,
developed SARS symptoms. Ryerson notified Toronto Public Health, and
the instructors and all students in that class are being made aware
of the situation. Toronto Public Health has made the determination
that since the student was not symptomatic while in class, no further
action is required for the students or instructors at this time.

The School of Nursing and the Health
Centre are in regular contact with Toronto Public Health and are
monitoring the situation in order to keep students, faculty and staff
informed.